The instant invention is concerned with an optical waveguide connector of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 1, said connector being preferentially made from plastic material.
Connectors of the specified kind of which various types are known are used for connecting, coupling and, if desired, branching optical waveguides which exist in the form of multi-fibre strands of glass or monofilament plastic conductors having diameters of from about 0.25 to 1.2 mm. In contrast to conventional electrical connectors in which current is passed via the conductive surfaces of relatively large metallic pins and metallic sleeves, with optical waveguides the transmission of signals is naturally possible only via the faces of the fibre ends, requiring precisely aligned positioning thereof in the male part as well as the female part of the connector with a minimum and constant distance between the two end faces. Moreover, the mechanically delicate fibre ends must be firmly secured in the housings of the connector parts so as to ensure exact locating of the fibre ends even under mechanical loads.
With conventional connectors for optical waveguides, especially monofilament synthetic plastic waveguides, the housings of male and female parts are normally composed of several pieces of plastics, metal or ceramics. The end portions of one or plural optical waveguides are fixed by various clamping and fixing elements in their respective housings such that their end faces, which may be polished, are precisely opposite each other when the connector parts have been mated. Apart from the high manufacturing costs and excessive assembly work due to the fact that the housing is a multi-part housing, these known connectors suffer from the further drawbacks that the delicate surface layers of the bared fibre ends might be damaged by the fixing elements on assembly and/or on account of tensile and compressive forces. Moreover, the multi-part housings are neither gas-tight nor liquid-tight so that the respective fibre ends may be attacked and damaged by moisture and aggressive media. Finally, conventional connectors for connecting two and more parallel optical waveguides have considerable dimensions. When two and more optical waveguides are used in a single cable the individual fibres must be parted and coupled to each other by separate connectors.
It is the objective of the instant invention to provide a connector for optical waveguides, especially monofilament plastic waveguides, which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture with small dimensions and which ensures precise and secure mutual alignment and fixing of the connected fibre ends even under mechanical loads.